Jamal Musiala opens scoring spree as Germany seal top spot of UEFA Nations League group
Jamal Musiala continued his scintillating form with an early goal, with Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst bagging braces as a confident Germany rampaged to a clear win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Freiburg.
Despite the lingering fog in Freiburg, it was clear to see from the very start that Germany are a team that have increasingly found their groove under Julian Nagelsmann. The hosts attacked from the outset and promptly took the lead in the second minute as Joshua Kimmich floated a cross into the far post where in-form Bayern Munich attacking jewel Musiala dispatched a header straight past St. Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj. Buoyed by the early opener, Germany continued to swarm forward with further goals looking a mere matter of time - until Borussia Mönchengladbach striker Kleindienst diverted Robert Andrich's shot from outside the area into the net for his first international goal on his third appearance. Kai Havertz then had a header turned onto the post in stunning fashion by Vasilj as Germany's complete dominance continued. The former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker then linked up with current Leverkusen attacking master Florian Wirtz to play a superb one-two before slotting in a third before the break.
There was no change in the flow of the play after the restart, with Germany tirelessly tearing forward once more. Wirtz swerved a delightful free-kick under the crossbar for Germany's fourth within minutes of the restart. The 21-year-old playmaker then completed a quickfire brace when a Havertz shot from a tight angle was parried into his path by Vasilj and he simply had to bundle the ball in at the far post. Leroy Sané had a great chance for a sixth saved within minutes of coming on, and fellow substitute Serge Gnabry chased the ball into the side netting when presented with an open goal. Sané made no mistake in taking down a chipped pass from Havertz superbly before slamming in a sixth via Vasilj's hands. Kleindienst slid to meet an Antonio Rüdiger cross and completed his brace by making it seven. Seemingly only Germany could stop themselves scoring by this stage, with Gnabry accidentally blocking a Pascal Groß effort bound for an empty net at the far post.
Watch: The best of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz
Match stats
Musiala now has seven goals in his last six appearances for club and country.
Kliendienst's first goals for Germany are his first at any international level after making ten appearances for Germany U20 in 2014 and 2015.
Wirtz now has four goals and three assists in his last six Germany appearances.
All of Germany's last four appearances in Freiburg have ended in 7-0 wins.
Germany became the first team to score seven goals in the UEFA Nations League.
Nagelsmann’s Germany are unbeaten after the standard 90 minutes of their past 14 matches (excluding an extra-time defeat against Spain at Euro 2024).
Nations League Group A3, Matchday 5 Group A3, Matchday 5 Europa-Park Stadion, Freiburg
Full-time
Full-time: Germany 7-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Germany didn't give their opposition a moments peace from the first minute until the last, in a performance that Julian Nagelsmann will certainly be pleased by. Jamal Musiala opened the scoring in just the second minute, settling any nerves and opening the floodgates simultaneously. Nagelsmann will also be pleased with his substitutes, who helped his side maintain their intensity.
Sané gets to the byline before flashing the ball across goal. Both Groß and Gnabry arrive at the far post looking to tap it home, and the ball finds Groß whose shot is blocked by Gnabry who had slid in ahead of him looking to score himself.
Kleindienst makes it seven!
A cross from a central area by Rüdiger finds the run of Kleindienst, whose outstretched foot guides the ball home, sending Vasilj the wrong way.
Kimmich is down with what seems to be an ankle problem. Play is stopped as he receives treatment.
It's six!
In typical Sané fashion, he cuts in from the right onto his left before aiming toward the far corner. His effort gets a helping hand from Vasilj before finding its way into the back of the net.
Havertz dribbles to the byline on the left flank before poking a shot at Vasilj, who saves before the the rebound is played toward Wirtz at the far post, who then taps home from a couple of yards out.
The ball bounces invitingly to the Stuttgart left-backjust outside the area, but his first-time effort sails over the bar.
Incredible free-kick!
Wirtz makes it four for Germany with an unbelievable free-kick. His shot from the edge of the box swerved horribly in front of Vasilj before hitting the back of the net.
Gigović finds himself face to face with Baumann inside the box, but his low, first-time effort only finds the foot of the outstretched 'keeper.
44'
Wirtz tries his luck
Wirtz receives the ball just inside the area and shifts the ball onto his left before getting a shot off. His effort takes a deflections and finds its way into Vasilj's arms.
42'
Almost a fourth
Musiala finds Havertz with a great through ball into the area, but Vasilj is out quickly to smother Havertz's first-time effort.
Havertz makes it three!
Brilliant link-up play between Havertz and Wirtz in between defenders ends with Havertz slotting the ball into the bottom corner from close range. A brilliant goal to make it three for Germany.
Bosnia make good progress into Germany's half, and a one-two combination on the edge of the box ends with a shot into Baumann's hands.
32'
Musiala with a rocket!
Following a short corner, Musiala makes his way to the edge of the area before unleashing a powerful bending effort toward Vasilj's top left corner, but his effort can't find the target.
28'
Maintaining the pressure
As we approach the half hour mark, it is still Germany firmly in control of possession. Bosnia have struggled to escape their half until now.
Goal! Kleindienst doubles Germany's lead
After great work from Wirtz on the left-hand side, Bosnia clear only as far as Andrich on the edge of the box. His low, driven effort is guided into the bottom corner by Kleindienst.
Rüdiger whips in a great cross from the right and it finds the head of Havertz, who glances his header wide from inside the area.
14'
Tough to break down
Since conceding early on, Bosnia have regrouped well. The hosts are struggling to find space in the final third despite their best efforts.
10'
Looking to double their lead
The hosts have not let up since opening the scoring. An inviting Mittelstädt cross is headed down by Kimmich at the first post, but no-one is there to pounce on it.
7'
Aggressive start
From the first minute, Germany have been intense in their pressing and have moved the ball with purpose. Bosnia have struggled to get hold of the ball in these opening stages.
Goal! Musiala heads home
What a brilliant start! A quick passing sequence ends with Kimmich crossing in from the right, and he finds the head of Musiala at the far past who finds the far corner with his effort.
Nico Schlotterbeck, Oliver Baumann and Robin Koch are in familiar territory today, as all three return to the ground of their former club Freiburg. Between them, they made 262 appearances for the Breisgau club.
First time triple
Germany have the opportunity to win three Nations League games in a row for the first time tonight. A win in Freiburg tonight would therefore add further evidence to the positive progress Julian Nagelsmann is making as head coach.
More on those teams
Germany make three changes to the side that beat Bosnia 2-1 in October. Baumann, Musiala and Havertz come in for Nübel, Gnabry and Undav. Kleindienst maintains his spot at the head of Germany's attack having started the previous two games. Bosnia have a very different starting lineup to the last encounter with seven changes in total, most notable of those being Edin Džeko dropping to the bench.
There were some doubts as to the availability of Florian Wirtz (pictured) during the week as the Leverkusen livewire missed training with Germany due to an infection - but he recovered in time to train again, with Nagelsmann indicating on Thursday he would be fine to play.
Tonight's match at the Europa-Park Stadion means a return to Breisgau for Oli Baumann and Nico Schlotterbeck, who both rose through the ranks at Freiburg. Defender Robin Koch and striker Tim Kleindienst also spent time at the club, whilst Bosnia striker Ermedin Demirović, who now plies his trade at Baden-Württemburg rivals Stuttgart, also had a stint at the side currently fifth in the Bundesliga.
Bosnia seeking to end winless run
Bosnia-Herzegovina last won an international fixture in October 2023, as they defeated Liechtenstein 2-0 in a EURO 2024 qualifier. They have failed to win in any of their ten matches since that day, and a loss tonight would see them relegated to Nations League B, continuing their yo-yo trend in the competition since it began in 2018/19.
Germany don't let up once qualified
Whilst some may argue Julian Nagelsmann's side might take their foot off the gas given that their place in the Nations League finals is already secured, they will still want to win tonight to claim top spot in Group A3, and besides, this is simply not in Germany's nature. After sealing their spot at the 2022 World Cup with two games to spare, Germany rounded off the qualification campaign with a 9-0 thrashing of Liechtenstein and a 4-1 win in Armenia.
Top provider
Jamal Musiala became the youngest player to get four goal involvements (one goal, three assists) in a single game in Nations League history when he dazzled in the 5-0 victory over Hungary. Musiala's combined four goal contributions are the second-most of any player in the competition so far, a record only bettered by Cristiano Ronaldo (six).
Saturday's clash will be the first time Germany have played a competitive match in the Black Forest city, and the first time they have played at the Europa Park stadium, which opened in October 2021. It will be Germany's sixth overall encounter in Freiburg.
The Bosnia squad arrived in Germany a few days ahead of the encounter and went after training on Tuesday to the Europa Park them park for a bit of rollercoaster-based team building.
Ortega in maiden call-up
Manchester City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega has been called up to the squad for the first time. The 32-year-old spent eight years with Arminia Bielefeld in two spells either side of a sting with 1860 Münich before moving to England, where he has won two Premier League titles and a UEFA Champions League.
These nations have met on just two occasions previously. Germany have won two of those encounters, while the first, a friendly in October 2002, ended in a 1-1 draw.
Bosnians in Germany
There are seven players plying their trade in Germany in the Bosnia squad for this match. VfB Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirović is the stand-out name, with Haris Tabaković (Hoffenheim), Nikola Vasilj (St. Pauli), Ermin Bičakčić (Eintracht Braunschweig), Dženis Burnić (Kalrsruher), Armin Gigović (Holstein Kiel) and Denis Huseinbašić (Cologne).
Bosnia head coach Sergej Barbarez on Germany
"It is certain that Saturday will be a demanding game. We are hoping to prepare for it well and then provide strong resistance in search of a positive result."
Watch: Germany players prepare for Bosnia and Herzegovina
Take a sneak peek behind the scenes of Germany's training.
Nagelsmann on progress
Finally, head coach Nagelsmann laid out his aims for the final international break of the calendar year. We definitely want to use these games to work on our cohesiveness," said the former Bayern, RB Leipzig and Hoffenheim boss. "We want to preserve the excitement the fans feel towards the players. We want to win and play good football, in order to announce our intentions both internally and externally.
Meanwhile, Kimmich's club and country teammate, Musiala, talked about growing expectations of the national team. "Despite the EUROS not going as perfectly as we would have liked, we caught a glimpse of the potential for the future," he said. "We have over a year and a half until the next World Cup and want to keep making advances until then by winning games and putting into practice everything that we have learned from the past couple tournaments."
Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala and Julian Nagelsmann have all been speaking to media in recent days. Starting with captain Kimmich, he's clearly out for Nations League glory, saying: "Our main goal is to reach the final four of the Nations League... As a player, you want to compete at the highest level and win every competition you take part in."
Angelo Stiller has left the Germany squad due to a muscle issue. He joins Deniz Undav, Leroy Sané, Marc-André ter Stegen, Niclas Füllkrug, Aleksandar Pavlović, Jamie Leweling and David Raum on the injury list.
Germany currently sit top of League A Group 3 of the Nations League, having picked up 10 points from their opening four games - five more than second-placed Netherlands. A win here will see them qualify for the quarter-finals next year, while defeat for Bosnia will relegate them to League B.
